Tales from the Big Fish
by Gottahavemyncis
Summary: Catch up with Gibbs and the gang following the end of "Pirates, Traitors and Goats, Oh My!". Slash of the McGibbs kind, if you don't like slash, don't read! Also, this won't make any sense without first reading Pirates.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Gibbs looked around the deck, smiling at his lover and their family and friends. This was a special day for them and as he piloted the Big Fish to their destination, he thought back about their journey to this day. It really had started the day Mitas found the skeleton. That had caused Tim to flashback to the loss of his first love Joey and their friends; Jethro had been there to console and support him. The two men had admitted their attraction to each other and that had quickly turned to passion and love. After their stay on the island and the trip home on the ship they'd built, the Big Fish, their first attempt at reaching home had not gone well. It had taken intervention by the State Department to bring them back to the U.S. Gibbs smiled to himself now, thinking back to the day they'd finally made it home and the days that followed.

Six months ago, on the Big Fish docked at the Navy Yard

_He walked out of the pilot's tower and stood grinning back at them as they snapped to attention, gave him a sharp salute and then swarmed him, cheering madly. They'd made it, they were home! _

After a long and noisy group hug, they noticed other noises coming from behind them and turned to find that a large crowd had gathered on the dock below and was cheering their homecoming. As they each spotted familiar faces, Tony lowered their rarely used gangplank. Now the group of 6 waited impatiently as Sarah McGee along with an attractive older woman who must be Penny, an older man who looked remarkably like Tony, two young men who bore a resemblance to Cory, and Abby, Jimmy and Tobias Fornell rushed up. Gibbs was not the least bit surprised when Penny reached out and grabbed both Tim and Ducky, and was quickly joined by Sarah and Jimmy. Gibbs smiled as Abby ran right into his arms. As she cried and babbled a little, he looked over her shoulder, his heart lurching as he saw another familiar face, one he hadn't seen in far too long, working his way up the gangplank.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, he whispered to Abby, giving her a quick kiss. She nodded, stepping aside and running to Ziva, who was being introduced to Mitas' brothers. Gibbs gave Tobias a quick one-armed hug and patted Jimmy, who was wrapped in Ducky's arms, on the back as he walked past him to greet his father.

Pride and memories of past problems took flight from both men as one slowly made his way up the gangplank and the other made his way to him through the happy crowd. By the time Jethro reached him, Jack had reached the top of the gangplank and stood looking at the ship. When he spotted his son, he held his arms open, tears running down his face. Jethro stepped into his arms and held on for dear life, thankful for the chance to see his father, to hold him close.

The two finally broke apart when Fornell tapped Gibbs on the shoulder.

"Jethro, Jack, excuse me but you need to see who is here. This is an official welcome."

Gibbs turned and saw the Secretary of State standing on the dock with a fair number of Suits, and lot of people with cameras and microphones in back of her. As he made eye contact, she called out, "Permission to come aboard, Captain." He called out, "Permission granted, Madam Secretary."

She walked up the gangplank and greeted each of them while the cameras clicked, shaking their hands, thanking them for their work, dedication and perseverance. She turned to Gibbs, "I won't stay long, Special Agent Gibbs. I know your return got off to a very rocky start and the President and I want to assure you and your crew that we are very happy that you survived. You have returned home to a welcoming nation. Having a group of good guys return from the dead is truly something to celebrate! And personally," she leaned in closer to Gibbs, "you have my thanks for bringing that thing home. I know that was a huge risk; you've done a favor for your country."

"Out of curiosity, ma'am, what will happen with it now?" Gibbs kept his voice low.

"We're going to the UN Security Council tomorrow afternoon with the fact that it exists and where it was placed. The President has already contacted the President of the Russian Federation, so there will be no real surprises at the UN. The press will be told tomorrow afternoon, after the meeting at the UN so please be prepared. We'll keep your names out of it, but it won't take long for some smart journalist to put two and two together. The White House communications staff will be in touch with all of you." She smiled. "There will be some drama but since the Soviet Union no longer exists and the leaders that ordered the weapon are either dead or no longer in power, there won't be much. However I will be curious to hear what the Russians have to say tomorrow about their attempted retrieval from Chimera. You're lucky - we're lucky - they didn't know anyone survived. In the meantime, the weapon is in the process of being dismantled." He nodded, relieved to hear that. She continued, "I understand that all but one of your crew was exposed to the weapon, the Navy will be handling your medical follow-ups." Gibbs frowned but nodded, Ducky had warned him and he knew the procedure.

After a few more minutes chatting with the crew and their families and looking at a few of the photos, the Secretary left. Other friends kept back by her security team then swarmed on board. Fornell had told him that only a select number of the press had been allowed aboard the Yard and that small group was kept off the gangplank, forced to watch and record from the dock.

Gibbs was introduced to a friend of Ziva's, an Officer Bashan from the Israeli embassy. Even though they considered themselves Ziva's family, he was glad that Ziva had someone there specifically for her, just as he'd been grateful that both his own father and DiNozzo Senior were there. After meeting Bashan and thanking him for his part in the offer of asylum, he turned away from the conversation, looking over the happy crowd on deck. He spun in surprise when he heard "Probie!" It was Mike Franks and the two of them greeted each other happily, for once not trading affectionate insults.

Nearly an hour after the Secretary's departure, a crowd of NCIS employees poured out of the building and headed to the ship to greet their once and future co-workers. Abby was still wrapped up in Tony and Ziva and Tim with Penny and Sarah, but Jimmy noticed and moved toward Fornell.

Tobias smiled at the young man, "It's ok, Jimmy, remember that now they know how right you and Abby were and how very wrong they were."

Jimmy nodded, "Still not sure I want to see any of them." Mitas was nearby and overheard the conversation, "Hey, Jimmy, I'm going to take my brothers on a tour of the ship, how about you come along? You can join us if you'd like, Agent Fornell." Both men nodded and Cory led them down the stairs and first to the animal pens where he introduced them to GG, Phyllis and Duke and the new babies Tilly and Alfie. Then a quick peek at the plant nursery and back through the galley to the bunkrooms and through the rest of the living quarters on the Big Fish.

The visitors were amazed at the thought, the work, and the amenities that had gone into the ship. Fornell was intrigued when Mitas pointed out the parts of the original assault craft and both Jimmy and Tobias laughed when they saw Gibbs' makeshift workbench and then had to explain it to Mike and Dan Mitas. They were properly impressed when Mitas told them that Ziva's crutches were homemade and that he, Tim and Tony had helped Gibbs make them while they were on 'Repair Island' repairing the hull. Fornell wanted to see the repaired spot so Mitas led them to the forward section of the lower deck. He told them the story of finding the large containers and floating them back to the bay to make a sort of dam while they dug the channel for the ship.

When the visitors heard that everything had been chronicled, Jimmy and Tobias said, in unison, "Tim!" Mitas nodded and then told them a little bit about all of them working on the chronicles and their fireside readings, ending with Tony's movie renditions; they got a kick out of that. By the time they'd seen the ship, they'd heard several wonderful stories about the crew and couldn't wait to see the photos and read the chronicles. Heading back to the upper deck, Jimmy was relieved to see most of his former colleagues from NCIS had gone back to work, leaving behind just his friends and their families.

Fornell grinned as he looked around the upper deck; he was having a great time. Not only had his old friend returned from the dead, he'd been able to help him instead of the usual scenario with Gibbs having to save _his _butt. And he loved this ship, it really was pretty cool. He wondered what the group had planned for it now. He made his way over to Jethro who was standing next to Tim, talking with Penny, Ducky and Jethro's father, Jack. Penny greeted him with a kiss to the cheek and Tim's eyes widened. "'S ok, Tim, I got to know Penny, Sarah, Jack and DiNozzo Senior pretty well while you were gone." Tim nodded back at him, accepting that. Tobias was happy to see the kid had his sister tucked under his arm; that was good because the young woman had been a wreck the entire time they'd been gone. One minute believing Abby, the next minute mourning her brother and regretting her attitude toward him before his death. Not to mention the young woman's hatred of NCIS and Jennifer Shepard in particular. He looked around and saw that the former NCIS director had not shown up. He hadn't expected her to; Jethro had already told him of his worries about her not protecting or supporting Abby and Jimmy and with the way things had gone, Tobias figured everyone was better off with her absence. He did wonder if the new Director, Leon Vance, would show up to meet his returning agents. Realizing he had not updated Gibbs with that information, he pulled his friend aside.

"Haven't had a chance to tell you about Shepard yet. She got bumped upstairs, a cushy promotion with the CIA. Now that I know what happened, the pieces are fitting together. I'm betting it was a reward for keeping her mouth shut about Chimera and the truth about you guys. That's why the Bureau, that is my team, put Abby and Jimmy under protection and then helped them transfer. The spooks were pressuring them to shut up about the possibility of you guys being alive and your former boss sure wasn't going to lift a hand to show any support or help them in any way. In fact she was doing a good deal of the pressuring, managed to convince some of the NCIS staff to ostracize the two for their efforts. That's why Jimmy wasn't so happy to see the folks from NCIS, it was just a few people but it was more than enough."

Gibbs listened to Fornell, his mind whirling with the news. He'd always known Jenny was all about herself and her goals, but he had hoped she would have been professional enough to help Abby and Jimmy, not to mention their families. He asked Tobias about that, whether she'd helped any of their families, but his old friend just looked at him sadly. Fornell started to tell him about Vance but was interrupted by a voice calling from the dock.

"Ahoy Big Fish, permission to come aboard?" From his position, Gibbs couldn't see who it was and not recognizing the voice, he looked at Tobias, a puzzled look on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, all the faves, follows and readers, you folks blew me away!

* * *

Chapter Two

Fornell leaned in, "That's your new boss Leon Vance, been the Director since January." Gibbs looked thoughtful, and then nodding his thanks to Fornell, moved to be able to see the man waiting below. Now smiling, he gestured to him to come aboard.

When Vance got closer, Gibbs smiled at him, reaching out to shake his hand. The new director nodded back and after shaking hands, handed him some money. "Three dollars and 83 cents. I'm more than happy to pay you back, thought I'd missed my chance."

Gibbs chuckled. "Thanks man. Fornell tells me you're the new director, congratulations."

"Appreciate that, still settling in. I'm glad to have you and your team back on board." He paused, "You are coming back?"

"Tell you the truth we haven't talked about it much, not in months. Come on, I'll introduce you to the crew." He whistled and the whole crew stopped whatever they were doing and gathered close to him, Ducky followed by Tony, Tim, Mitas and Ziva on crutches.

Gibbs first introduced Vance as their new director and then, visibly beaming with pride, presented each member of his crew, mentioning that Mitas had been a civilian but that they now had him more than half trained as a Federal Agent. Mitas rolled his eyes and responded by saying that although he could use Ziva's second favorite knife and now knew how to defend himself with a firearm, his fists or legs, his chief contribution had been cooking a mean fish. There were catcalls over that and Vance was amused by the tightly knit group.

He waited until the comments died down and then cleared his throat. "I know that except for Gibbs, none of you have met me and vice versa. I do want to welcome you home and I look forward to having you return to work, we certainly need you all!"

The Director looked at the agents, the Mossad liaison, both Medical Examiners and the Forensic Tech standing there on the deck. He had still been the Assistant Director in San Diego when Fornell had stepped up to help Abby Sciuto and Jimmy Palmer and he admitted he had been relieved that they had some sort of protection as rumors about the pressure from the CIA and the Navy had been pretty ugly. Now however, he really would like them back at NCIS and was hoping the return of their mentors would hasten that. "For the NCIS employees-island hoppers among you, I have some good news. Your back pay has been approved; I'll have those checks for you tomorrow – I'm also advancing you a week's pay in cash so you won't have to fish for your dinners. Officer David, your father wired cash to tide you over until you get your banking straightened out. We also have new Ids and badges for you all. Agent Gibbs, Dr. Mallard, by now you will have heard that your homes are still yours. Agents DiNozzo and McGee, Officer David, I'm sorry to say your apartments are long gone. NCIS and the Navy will pay your costs to find new ones, security deposits, etc. Mr. Mitas, the Navy will also do the same for you, including the pay they owe you." Mitas and the others smiled and nodded their thanks.

"We have rooms for each of you reserved at the Navy Lodge and you can take vehicles as needed from the agency pool. Although none of you has driven in 6 months, so I don't know…"

Ducky interrupted him, "Actually it's only been about 3 weeks since we've driven, Director."

"Oh, how's that?"

They all looked at each other, grinning and Tony answered for all of them, "We had an ATV on the island, we drove it nearly every day."

"An ATV?"

"Yep, Mitas found it in the bay our second day there."

"In the bay…and it had enough fuel for what, 5 months?"

Gibbs spoke up, "No, Tim and Ziva rigged it to run on solar power, it was one of their tests before taking on the ship's engine."

"This ship is solar powered?"

"Yeah, we mostly used the engine to get here. We used the sail for training and when we were conserving the batteries."

"Amazing!"

Mitas spoke up, "I'd be happy to give you a quick tour if you'd like, sir. All our electronics and all but one of our appliances are run on solar power."

"Electronics?"

"Well, our WTs, I mean our walkie talkies and Tim's laptop, and the camera. And the ship's electronics came from…" Mitas stopped and looked at Gibbs for help.

Smiling at the young man, he continued what Mitas had been about to say. "The electronics came from the assault vessel we commandeered on the Chimera, Director. It's in our reports; I'll send them to you as soon as we get connected to the internet."

Months ago, after doing their reports on the Rogers' case Gibbs had realized that they also needed to do their reports on the original Chimera case. They'd followed the same procedure as they had with the reports on Chief Rogers.

Tim looked at the director and Gibbs. "Boss, Director, I've uploaded our reports and the case photos onto my travel drive. I've got it right here, Sir."

Tim took the travel drive from his pocket and handed it to the Director. "Reports? You all did reports? On the Chimera case, the death of Lt. Takada? Formal reports?"

Gibbs answered for his team, "Special Agent McGee had blank report forms stored on his laptop and a copy of one of my reports, so we copied those and did them for both cases."

Gibbs was speaking softly and trying to steer Vance away from the crowd as he looked puzzled, perhaps about to ask about there being more than one case. Vance suddenly understood that there was probably classified information on the drive McGee had just handed over.

He nodded and patted his pocket. "I'll download these and get the drive back to you, Agent McGee."

Tony chuckled, "That's good sir, because all of our music is on there." Tim opened his mouth to remind him their music was on his I-Pod, but then thought better of it. It was his travel drive after all; it did not belong to NCIS and he was sure the Director wouldn't care about the music, wherever it was stored.

Vance smiled as they rejoined the group. "Yes, I understand from the Skipper of your escort ship that you're big fans of Bruce Springsteen."

They laughed as they explained their reaction to Fornell's call and the vote to go home. Vance noticed several pairs of eyes widening, family members not having realized how close the group had come to embracing the Israelis' offer of asylum.

He cleared his throat, "There were some terribly misguided and unjust actions taken out there on the water, I'm just thankful Director David contacted State and that Agent Fornell and Deputy Director Morrow acted as your advocates."

Mitas nodded, "Can't tell you how good it felt to know someone from the U.S. was on our side. I was relieved when Ziva told us we'd be welcomed in Israel and I voted to go there. It's just strange and still hard to know that another country had to come to our rescue before our own country would even acknowledge us. It was bad enough when those Coast Guard jerks took Ziva and Ducky away, but when they dragged Gibbs off the Big Fish…that felt like the end. When Gibbs came back with them I was so relieved I nearly cried. I thought the Navy guys on Chimera were tough, but those Coast Guard guys, they treated us like we were the bad guys, like I imagine convicted criminals are treated."

Gibbs bit the inside of his mouth to keep from cheering for Mitas. None of the rest of them would have been so candid, except maybe Ducky, but Mitas had no stake in this, no position with NCIS to worry about and he was free to say whatever he wanted.

Penny and Jack had been following Mitas' comments closely and now they looked at Gibbs, "Dragged...?"

Mitas nodded, "Took him off at gunpoint. And that wasn't the first time they'd pointed guns directly at us. Gibbs wanted to talk privately to the officer in the first boarding party and the soldiers in the boarding party had guns in our faces, literally in our faces. I was scared to death."

"Sailors, Cory or Coast Guardsmen."

"Maybe they were sailors, Tony, but they were acting like soldiers facing the enemy."

Penny put her hand on Cory's shoulder. "I think you should let our government know how unacceptable that was."

"He just did." As a group, they spun around and saw the Department of Homeland Security Deputy Director Tom Morrow standing at the top of gangplank. "Permission to come aboard?"

Gibbs smiled and welcomed him with a handshake.

"Sorry I'm late for the party. You're Cory Mitas, correct?" Cory nodded, keeping his eyes on Gibbs who let him know that yes, this was a friend. "I'm going to file a complaint on your behalf, Mr. Mitas and we'll see what happens with the people who ordered that treatment."

"Thank you, Sir. We had some really scary moments right after we left Chimera, and on the island and then aboard ship, but having those guns pointed in my face and then seeing Gibbs, our leader, marched off like that, that was more terrifying than the ship exploding, the things that happened on the island, and seeing the shark with its jaw around Ziva's leg…scarier than all of those combined."

Cory's brothers had gathered around him and Ziva moved next to him as well, offering support. "I…I'm sorry I'm being such a whiner." He looked up and then grinned as Tim and Tony gave him soft 'pats' on the back of his head. "What did we tell you about that, Cory? We can out-whine you any day!"

Mike Franks had had about enough talking; he wanted to see the ship. "Hey, can we get a tour of the 'Fish, I want to see how rough you all had it on your way home."

The crew laughed and Mitas volunteered once again to take any interested parties through. Penny looked at the others and spoke for them as they shook their heads, "Thank you, no, we've already been." Mitas was joined by Franks, Vance and Morrow and they left for their tour.

While Mitas led their new boss through the ship, the others gathered around Gibbs. "Uh oh, what are you four up to?"

"Jethro, it's been an exhausting and emotional day. And…well, Anthony's hungry. We wondered if we could eat here, on board, and the others could join us."

"Ok, who wants to cook…uh huh, that's what I thought. Well, we'll ask. Do we have any fish in the cool box…enough for all of us?"

Tim cleared his throat, "We do, Boss, we caught enough yesterday for all of us tonight."

"All right, well as I said, we'll ask Mitas. What else?"

Ziva spoke this time, "We don't want to stay at the Navy Lodge, Gibbs."

"We?"

"None of us, Boss."

Gibbs gestured to Ducky, "Ok, well between us, we have two houses; you're more than welcome..."

Ducky rocked on his heels. "Actually, Jethro, we were thinking we could stay on board one last night."

"All of you?"

"Well, if we have a fire and a bit of a read, it will be rather late and I'm not comfortable driving all the way out to Reston in the dark tonight. And the youngsters want to stay."

Gibbs grinned, "Ok, we're not on the island here, we're afloat in the Navy Yard, there are rules that have to be followed and I don't know if we can use this as a floating hotel." The others looked at him patiently. "But I'll ask our new Director. What about our families though? We don't have any extra mattresses and I'm not sharing!" Tim looked away and covered his laugh with a cough.

Penny spoke up, "That's all right, Jethro. Sarah and Jackson are staying at my place and it's not far from here. We can certainly travel to and from, maybe come over and have breakfast with you tomorrow?"

Tony's dad added his two cents, "I'm staying at the Hayes and it's not that far either." The Mitas brothers nodded, they were staying at the Navy Lodge, also not far.

Tim spoke again, "We have to take care of the goats and chickens anyway, Boss, until they go to their new homes."

Jackson spoke up then, "I can take them."

"Seven goats and 6 chickens, Dad?"

"Sure, have that old chicken coop out back and the backyard has a 6 foot deer fence; the goats will be safe there. I can put together some sort of pen for them or maybe you can come up and help me build one, son."

Gibbs smiled, that was a good idea but he would be traveling with Tim to Pennsylvania to build that pen.

"All right, Dad. They're ok living outside; they didn't have a pen on the island. But they'll need shelter from the snow."

"Did you have snow on the island?"

"No, there wasn't any snow, Dad, but we did have bad storms, including a hurricane, and they came downstairs and stayed with us."

"Downstairs, thought you were living in a cave?"

"We were. You know what, Tim, if we do have dinner here, why don't you set up the laptop and show some photos. Then everyone can see where we lived and our pyramid."

"Sure Boss."

* * *

Information about Coast Guard enlisted being called sailors, Coast Guardsmen, 'Coasties' and Guardians was found online : en DOT allexperts DOT com FWD SLASH Careers-Military-Army-1483 FWD SLASH Coast-Guard-terminology DOT htm

You know the drill, remove spaces, substitute the real thing for the word dot or fwd slash


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

As Mitas conducted the tour group through the ship, Morrow and Vance were trying not to let their jaws drop every few seconds and Franks merely looked smug. Vance kept looking around, thinking _they built this…in less than five months, they built this ship. _ It was well designed and looked comfortable. Vance wondered if they wouldn't rather stay here than the Navy Lodge. He'd have to speak to the Commander of the Yard but that shouldn't be a problem. He thought that if they wanted to, the younger ones could stay on board until they found places to live.

He asked Mitas what his plans were and the man grinned, "I was working as a civilian cook for the Navy to earn money for school; I'm studying to be a clinical psychologist. Now with that back pay, I'll have enough to go back to class. I'm going to transfer to a school around here; I don't want to get too far away from these guys."

"Really? That's good to know."

"Yeah, they're great people, I've learned a lot. The first couple of weeks, after I got over being scared of everyone but Ducky, I just watched them, they were so entertaining. You know half the time they don't have to speak to each other, especially Gibbs, he just raises an eyebrow or tilts his head and they know what he wants and they do the same to each other. And then when they busted the traitor and I got to see how they work as Federal Agents, that was really something, not that that was a good thing, it was pretty horrible, plus Crewman Wong…oh, you might not know about all that yet."

Vance spoke for the three of them, "We don't and we won't mention it, will we gentlemen?"

Morrow shook his head while Franks just grinned, "You guys were lost on an island, by yourselves, built this thing AND busted a traitor and had another case? Did Probie shoot the traitor? Damn, I knew Probie was good, but that beats all! He might even be better than I was!" He looked around, "Uh, don't tell him I said that."

Morrow laughed and clapped him on the back, "Good to see retirement hasn't changed you a bit, Mike!"

"Thanks, all of you and Mr. Franks, you'll have to ask Gibbs about the traitor."

"Well, you didn't bring him back with you, kid, so I'm guessing he's dead."

Mitas paled and then decided he'd better keep his mouth shut about everything but the ship as they continued with the tour.

As they finished, Vance stopped the young man before they joined the others. "You're part of Gibbs' team now, Mitas, whether you ever work for NCIS or not. And we might have a place for you when you get your degree."

"I'm going for my doctorate, sir."

"Even better."

They were on the upper deck now and joined the others. Gibbs smiled at Mitas, "Were they suitably impressed?"

"Yeah, I think so, even your old boss!"

"Which one? Morrow was my director and Franks was my Supervising Agent."

"The cowboy, Gibbs!"

Gibbs laughed, "That's Franks. Cory, what would you think about one last dinner on board?"

"Only if I get to cook! And everyone will stay, right, all our families and friends?"

Gibbs chuckled, "If you don't mind. Tim says we have enough fish."

"Yes we do and we can use up more of whatever we have in the cold box and the refrigerator."

"You sure you don't mind?"

"No, Gibbs, I'm glad to. We have to eat and none of us really wants to leave the ship. It's a nice night. We won't have enough chairs though. Let's see, that's us 6 plus 10 extra. We have those packages of paper plates & plastic cutlery we never used and we can bring the table up top and…" Gibbs put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Na uh, you're cooking, you don't get to do the worrying about where we're all going to sit. Let us handle that. There's an agency headquarters building right there," Gibbs pointed to the NCIS building, "and they have folding chairs."

Mitas grinned, "Sure gonna miss you, Boss!"

"You're part of us now Cory, we don't let people go easily."

"Hope not, going to be weird not living with all of you."

Gibbs chuckled, "Think we all feel that way, kiddo!"

He gave the younger man another pat and then turned to find the others hovering. "What? He said yes, as if you had any doubts! DiNozzo…"

"Ask Director Vance about the chairs, got it Boss."

"McGee…"

"Make sure everyone can stay."

"David…"

"Help Cory?"

"If Ducky allows it."

"I will, Jethro, as long as she sits as much as possible while helping."

The four were soon busy with their tasks. Vance had planned to work late but changed his mind and accepted the offer of dinner. Morrow declined as he had a dinner engagement that evening. Fornell needed to pick up Emily at her mother's but a quick phone call gave him a few extra hours. That made Abby and Jimmy very happy as they had ridden over with him. Franks just grinned, there was no way he was missing this.

When Vance agreed to loan the chairs, the Mitas brothers, Jimmy, Tim and Tony started toward the gangplank with the Director to fetch them. Tim and Tony stopped before they took their first step and looked at each other. They hadn't realized until just now that none of them had yet stepped on terra firma - American soil or in this case pavement. Turning, they looked back at the Boss; they didn't want to do this without the rest of them. Vance stopped, watching them.

Gibbs saw the two stop abruptly and quickly realized what was happening. "Ziva, Ducky, Mitas, get over here. Dad, can you watch the food for a couple of minutes?" Jackson, mystified, agreed as he moved down to the galley along with Fornell.

"Guys, we haven't touched American soil yet, Tim and Tony just realized and they want us to do it with them." Mitas smiled, of course they would take this step together just has they had done everything else.

Ducky just nodded, "Where are your crutches, my dear?" Ziva sighed and Sarah hurriedly fetched them for her. "Thank you Sarah."

Once they were all together, they let Vance, Mike and Dan Mitas and Jimmy go ahead of them and then the 6 walked down the gangplank together. They heard cameras clicking and looking up saw that Abby had grabbed their camera and was snapping away. Some of the press was still there, hoping to get an exclusive interview with one of the Big Fish 6 and they too were snapping away. When all six had stepped foot onto American soil, Tim and Tony continued on into the building for the chairs while the others, laughing at themselves and feeling a bit silly, walked back up the gangplank.

Mitas and Ziva returned to their dinner preparations. With Franks' and Fornell's help, they released the latches on the bench and chairs and moved them up top, then came back for the table. Gibbs unlocked the deck table and set it up with its benches, placing the two tables end to end. Ducky rummaged around in their pantry until he found the packages of disposable plates and cutlery and brought those up top.

XXX

As the chair committee walked into NCIS Tim felt as if he was in a dream. This whole day had been surreal and now walking into the agency to borrow chairs was even more so. Tony nudged him, "Hey, you feel like we're in bizarro world or something?"

Tim nodded, "Yeah, it's definitely weird, Tony."

Jimmy, bringing up the rear, laughed, "I'm glad you guys feel that way, I do too. I haven't been back here since Tobias hired me and Abby away. I'm really glad I'm here with you guys though, wouldn't be right otherwise."

Tony shook his head, "What happened, Jimmy that Fornell had to reach out and protect you guys? I'm glad he did, but…"

Jimmy hesitated, "It's kind of a long story and tonight's probably not the best time, guys."

Tim nodded, "Ok, as long as you tell us at some point, Doctor Palmer."

"Aww guys, I'm not a doctor yet."

"Close enough, Doc!" Their conversation ended when Vance opened the storage room door to reveal folding chairs, tables and many other items.

Tony nudged Tim, "Look Tim, NCIS has its own version of Flotsam Cove!"

Tim smiled, "Yeah, look at all this stuff."

Jimmy whispered, "Your stuff is in here guys, the stuff from your desks."

"Really? Why are you whispering?"

"Because Director Shepard ordered that it all be thrown away. But Abby and I took it and stashed it in here."

Vance was handing out chairs and must have overheard, however his only comment was, "Nothing to worry about now Doctor Palmer. I've had those boxes moved to my office so our team can reclaim them."

Jimmy nodded, still nervous while Tony and Tim gave each other looks.

Vance paused, "McGee, DiNozzo, I just realized I haven't seen Gibbs with coffee this afternoon. Has he gone cold turkey?"

Tim smiled, "No sir, but his supply is getting low so he has cut way back."

"The rest of you don't drink coffee?"

Tony shrugged, "Tim and I used to but we decided to let Gibbs have it all. Tim has tea every once in a while and Cory and I drink hot chocolate sometimes. Ducky and Ziva are tea drinkers."

Vance huffed, "I've got five pounds of freshly ground coffee in my office, let me go grab that. At least you'll have coffee for breakfast tomorrow."

Tim frowned, looking at Tony, who gave him a look that clearly said he didn't have a clue either. Tim thought the Director must mean that Gibbs could take the coffee home with him as no one had yet spoken to Vance about staying aboard tonight. They continued pulling out the chairs they needed while they told the Mitas brothers a little about Cory's place with them. The two had heard some of their brother's stories already and loved hearing how much he'd done and how much he was valued by these people.

Vance returned with the bag of coffee in his hands. "All right, let's get these back to thed'Fish." Grabbing the chairs, the 6 of them walked out, letting Vance once again lead the way through Security.

Dinner was in process by the time they got back. Mitas had decided to cook all of their fish. Gibbs had taken his dad to the plant compartment and they'd picked all the fresh spinach they could find. There was plenty to make even the staunchest vegetable advocate – Ducky although he now had competition from Penny - happy.

Once the chairs were distributed around the table, Tim and Tony grinned at each other and disappeared into the galley. They came back with their storage tub full of dinnerware. Vance had passed the bag of coffee to Tim, so he'd stopped to put a fresh pot on the stove and had filled the tea kettle as well.

After they carried the tub to the deck, Tim called for everyone's attention, "No, dinner's not ready quite yet, Cory will let us know. What I need to know is who wants tea or coffee with dinner. We have Earl Grey tea and some herbal teas, I think…Ziva? "

"Yes, Tim, it is on the second shelf of the pantry, just behind our tea."

"Ok, some herbal tea and we do have sugar, but no honey. I've also got a fresh pot of coffee brewing, yes Boss, I know, but I thought Fornell might like one too, or Sarah and Abby. Other than tea and coffee, we have…water."

Mitas called from the galley, "We've got that powdered stuff still, Tim and a couple of juice boxes."

"Oh yeah, we have some powdered lemonade that mixes with water and some orange flavored or apple flavored juice boxes."

Sarah looked interested, "What brand is the lemonade, Tim?"

The 6 of them laughed gently as Tim replied, "Island brand, Sarah. The label is washed off."

"Oh well, I guess I'll try it. The water around here isn't that great."

That sent the group into more laughter as Ducky explained, "Sarah, our water isn't from around here. It's fresh rainwater from our last rain in the Atlantic, however many days ago that was. Believe me, it tastes nothing like any water you've ever had."

The young woman smiled and decided to have a glass of their best rainwater. Her brother smiled as he took her hand and led her to the cistern, uncovered it and dipped a small amount of the water into a plastic cup. Taking a sip, she nodded, this was much better water than she'd ever tasted. Tim filled one of their water jugs and took it back to the galley.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

While his son and the group had been walking onto home soil, Jackson had been very interested to see what was being prepared for dinner. He had seen the fish come out of the cool box, now he noticed that Mitas was marinating it in some delicious smelling sauce. There was a skillet full of sliced onions and what looked like sliced carrots sautéing, also smelling wonderful. He noticed there was garlic in the process of being minced and he finished that but didn't add it to the skillet, not wanting to burn it. The spinach had been rinsed but not yet patted dry, so he asked Tobias to do that. There was a large pot on the stove with the flame turned high. Using a towel he found on the counter, he lifted the lid and found water heating. Then he poked his head into the refrigerator and saw a large bowl of butterscotch pudding. He hoped the jar next to it was filled with cream to be whipped as a topping.

He hummed to himself, if this was the way they'd eaten for the past six months, they had done well to not gain any weight. All six of them seemed very healthy and in good shape, with the exception of Ziva's shark bite of course. He shuddered at that image, thankful it hadn't been any worse. The young lady in question and the chef returned to their dinner preparations, thanking Jack and Fornell for their help. Jack hung around long enough to see Ziva remove a container of pasta from the pantry and place it in the now boiling water. He wondered where the pasta had come from without realizing he'd said that aloud.

Mitas looked up, "Tony made it, Mr. Gibbs. His grandmother taught him when he was a kid and he's made all kinds of Italian dishes for us."

Having met DiNozzo Senior months ago, Jack had recognized his son as soon as he saw him. He was impressed with the pasta. He was impressed with the entire ship and this group of extraordinary people, proud that his son was their leader.

XXX

While they waited for dinner, Gibbs looked at Tim and Tony, "Where are you guys going to stay tonight?"

Tony shrugged, "At the Navy Lodge, I guess." He didn't sound overly enthusiastic about it and Vance decided to bring up his idea. "Now that I've had a tour of this ship – and I am very impressed – I wondered if you all wouldn't rather stay here for the night? Or however long you want to stay."

Gibbs bit back a chuckle and the others stared at their new director. Ducky finally spoke, "We thought of asking you if that would be possible, at least for tonight Director. I will most likely move home tomorrow, but I find myself reluctant to leave tonight."

"I don't see any reason to say no, Dr. Mallard. I just need to clear it with the Commander of the Yard. Does that mean you all want to stay?"

He looked at the rest of Gibbs' crew and down into the galley where Mitas and Ziva were following the conversation. With big grins on their faces, they all nodded.

"Very well, excuse me." He turned to call the Commander of the Navy Yard. After a brief conversation he ended the call, telling them "You have permission to live on the ship for as long as it takes to find new homes…just not permanently."

Gibbs nodded, "Of course. We'll need to move her eventually anyway."

Remembering at this point that they hadn't yet fed their animal friends, Tim and Tony grabbed the food for the chickens and the goats, all of whom had been in their pen since the ship had docked, and went to feed them. Curious, Abby and Sarah trailed along. Sarah giggled as she watched her brother and Tony play with the baby goats and gasped when the mama goat and two others tried to follow them out of the pen.

"Oh that's so cute."

"Yeah, these three are GG, Phyllis and Duke. When we first got to the island, they were just kids, older than the babies in there now, but still kids. They followed Tony and me everywhere, even warned us away from something dangerous once."

"And Jack is taking them home with him?"

"Yeah, so they'll have a good home, along with the chickens."

The girls giggled again. "Did you ever eat any of them?"

"Yeah, two chickens, both killed in storms on the island. We never killed any. Got their eggs every morning and milked Nanny. We'll have some goat butter tonight and maybe some whipped cream for dessert, not sure what Mitas and Ziva have come up with."

That made the girls' mouths water and Tim laughed at them. They headed to the galley, peeking to see what the cooks were up to. Mitas had the barbecue going and Tim smiled; that was his favorite, barbecued fish.

Gibbs tapped Tim on the back, "Tim, we don't have enough coffee for tonight and tomorrow morning, we're down to less than one pot."

Tim glanced around; no one with super hearing besides Gibbs was nearby, "Not anymore, Jethro. Vance had 5lbs. of fresh coffee in his office and brought it down for us."

Gibbs looked up, "Thanks for the coffee, Director!" Vance smiled and nodded.

"Noticed you were without coffee and asked McGee. I couldn't wrap my heard around the possibility of you no longer being a coffee drinker."

"I had 20 lbs on me when we left here, plus there was some on the assault craft. But with our winter layover, we were running pretty low. The guys even quit drinking it, afraid of me having to go through detox I guess."

As he finished speaking, Mitas banged on the pan, startling their guests. They were ushered to the tables while Tim and Gibbs brought the food up top. There was a platter of succulent barbecued fish, a steaming bowl of pasta with a separate bowl of creamy Alfredo sauce, a small plate containing a lump of butter freshly churned that day and knowing it would please Ducky, a bowl of their fresh spinach, lightly cooked with carrots, onions and garlic, their favorite method of consuming any vegetable.

It was a bit of a hodgepodge meal but Mitas had had to do that in order to feed the extra mouths and clean out the fresh food in the cool box and refrigerator. Tony had found boxes of powdered butterscotch pudding in the back of their small pantry, so they would have that for dessert. They wished there were berries left but pudding and whipped cream would do as a substitute.

While they had been doing their chores and preparing dinner, their families and friends had been viewing photos on Tim's laptop. Ziva had done a wonderful job of putting them in separate folders and captioning them so few questions needed to be asked. Tim had not yet had time to organize their chronicles and coordinate them with the photos, so those had not made an appearance.

They sat around the two tables and their guests looked at the food and everything on the table. Sarah pointed to the lumpy stuff on a plate. "What's that?"

Tim said proudly, "Fresh butter, I churned it this morning."

Penny beamed at him, "You made a butter churn? Or did you find one?"

Gibbs smiled, "He figured out that churning is pretty much just an up and down motion, so after he learned how to set up the milk to separate the cream he used a covered jar as a churn. We've had fresh butter almost every day."

"Who taught him how to separate the cream?" The crew laughed and pointed to Gibbs.

He smiled, "My grandparents had a farm and I remembered a bit about how things operated, so I passed that along."

"Like collecting a hen's eggs, always leaving her one and milking a cow… a goat can't be all that different, right son?"

"Right Dad."

Nearly all of their visitors took a bit of the butter to try on their pasta and declared it delicious. DiNozzo Senior didn't quite turn his nose up at it but he was plainly not interested. Sarah wasn't so sure she wanted any kind of milk, cream or butter from a goat and so didn't try it. It wasn't until after she'd had a healthy serving of the pudding with whipped cream on it that she realized she'd had plenty of goat's milk. The cream in the Alfredo sauce, the whipped cream, even the pudding had goat's milk in it.

After the meal and wash up, Ducky invited them all to join in the nightly gathering at the fire pit. DiNozzo Senior begged off and departed for his hotel, promising to return for breakfast, Vance excused himself to get a bit of work done before he went home and Fornell's extra hours were up, he needed to collect Emily so he left, taking a reluctant Abby and Jimmy with him. That left six additional people around the fire pit that night.

Ducky smiled, "Usually one of us reads a book we've chosen or Anthony regales us with a verbal rendition of a movie. But tonight I think we should answer your questions."

Jackson started, "What happened with the Coast Guard, you didn't give us much. Just what Cory said."

Gibbs took that one, "Sorry Dad, we didn't want to talk much about it while Vance was with us, even with what Tom Morrow said. Vance wasn't involved but his boss, the Secretary of the Navy pretty much created the mess, or so we believe, and I didn't want to talk about it in front of him. From our perspective, what happened was…" Gibbs proceeded to tell them of their imprisonment on their own ship. He kept it light as he could see his crew was still very uncomfortable with it. Penny and Jack must have noticed that too as they didn't ask any more questions about it.

Sarah had many questions about their life on the island and they told them some of their stories, carefully skirting around the Soviet nuclear warhead, Chief Rogers, the mystery skeleton and Crewman Wong. They talked about their best day at the beach and the fury of being in a hurricane. Tony told them about their dancing and the races in the corridor and Ducky regaled them with the story of the First and Only American All-Star Race on the ATV. The evening passed too quickly and soon their visitors were rising and carefully walking down the gangplank. Tim watched them leave with a funny feeling, and then shook his head, realizing they would wake up and still be home in the morning.

They returned to the fire pit after the others left and sat in quiet companionship. Gibbs knew the question was simmering and thought about waiting until someone asked, but decided to just rip the band-aid off, as DiNozzo would say. "Fornell told me what happened with Jenny." The others looked up, Mitas looking puzzled. "Cory, that's Jenny Shepard, former director of NCIS." Mitas nodded and Gibbs continued, telling them what Fornell had told them about her not having supported Abby and Jimmy and in fact generating some hostility at the agency toward them for not believing the party line that they were dead. That angered them but there was dead silence when Gibbs told them about her promotion to a job at the CIA. Four pairs of eyes stared at him in disbelief, the fifth looking around at his friends. Tony finally exploded, "The CIA? The freakin' CIA? Boss, what the HELL?"

Gibbs shook his head, "Fornell said scuttlebutt had it as a reward for something but nobody knew what until we turned up alive. Tobias now thinks it was for supporting their agenda in regards to Chimera. Keeping her mouth shut about the ship, lying about what happened to us."

He didn't mention Fornell's remark about SecNav being cozy with Langley. Tony bore a grudge against the Central Intelligence Agency for blowing his car up. While Gibbs and the rest of the team regretted Tony's loss of the car, more unforgiveable to them was the horrible hours they'd spent thinking Tony had been in the car and was dead. None of them brought that up now, there was no need to say it aloud. With the exception of Cory, they were all thinking about it.

Ziva finally spoke, "I thought I knew her. Yes, she has had her own agenda and I did not like her treatment of Tony during that undercover operation but I thought that was shortsightedness, not something that would not only be repeated but made worse."

Tony abruptly stood up and headed up the stairs to the deck. Tim and Gibbs both started to rise but Tim shook his head, "Give me a few minutes, Boss." Gibbs nodded, reluctantly.

Tim headed up and found Tony at the aft railing looking out the estuary to the open sea. As Tim leaned on the railing next to him, the older man spoke. "It was easier out there, wasn't it Probie? Yeah, we had bad stuff happen but it was direct, we were together and we handled it, it got done."

Tim nodded, "And now to come home to the same old bullshit, only to find it's worse. First SecNav screws us over and we have to be rescued by Ziva's dad and then we hear this crap about Shepard."

Tony whispered, "I've never forgiven her, you know and now…there's no way, not after she treated Abs and Jimmy like that."

Tim nodded, he felt the same way. "I've never forgiven her for having you on that undercover assignment for a year with no backup. And then thinking we'd lost you that day, Tony, I hated her so much then. Never really got past it." He draped an arm around his friend's shoulders. "But she's not our boss anymore, man. We're done with her."

"Really, you think she's not going to be gunning for us from the CIA? Because you know, we know so many of her dirty little secrets?"

Tim was silent while he digested that, Tony had a good point. "Then I think we need to trust Boss and Director Vance. You forget what Boss does to people who screw him over and I don't think this is the first time she's done that. If she tries anything, they're likely to find a pile of ash in her size 5 Manolos."

Tony started laughing at that and it turned into a deep belly laugh, one Tim hadn't heard since Ziva was bitten by the shark. Below in the galley, the others sat back and relaxed as they heard Tony let loose, letting the tension go. Gibbs smiled, thinking about his Timmy with his 'older brother'. The fire was dying and Gibbs wanted, needed to see his boys and the night sky, so he rose, surprised when the others rose with him. Ziva spoke up. "It is our last night, yes? I wish to see what stars are visible." They trooped upstairs, Ziva clomping with her crutches and joined Tim and Tony, who turned from the railing. "Think we can see more stars from here. No buildings out there." Tony pointed in the direction of the ocean and remarked that even looking away from the buildings there were still very few stars that could be seen here. He prompted Tim and Gibbs to point out the constellations that had guided them that first night on the assault craft.

They stood leaning against the rail, now relaxed and quiet as the stars appeared, but there was an air of finality. After all the delays and their arrival home, this was their last night together, this group on this ship in this situation. What had started out as a disaster and a close escape from death had turned into an epic adventure but this was the end of it, tonight.

Gibbs nodded to himself; they had needed this last night together aboard the 'Fish although he still wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was to reaffirm the friendships after seeing their families and friends. He didn't know. He also didn't know if the others would stay on once he and Ducky left, but he doubted it. Ziva would go to Ducky's home until she found a place and he thought Tony and Mitas would stay with him, although Ducky thought Mitas would stay at his place because Ziva would be there. Gibbs had thought about that and decided that would be fine, as long as it was fine with Ziva. Although he ached for Tim to join him at his home, they had talked about it over the months on the island and Tim had ultimately decided he would stay with Penny until he found his own place. Or until everyone else moved out of Gibbs' place and then he would move in with Jethro.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

As they stood talking quietly, recognizing the finality, Ziva asked Mitas to bring her pack up on deck. She had not forgotten the surprise she had for Tim, but had decided to give it to him after Abby left the ship. Mitas quickly returned and she dug the jacket out of her pack. It was still as neatly folded as the day she'd put in there, down in Flotsam Cove.

Calling Tim to her, she presented him with the Armani jacket saying, "I believe that jacket meant a great deal to you and it was unfortunate that it was needlessly ruined during the radiation testing. When I found this during our last coving, I wanted you to have it. I believe it is your size." Tim was unfolding it as she spoke and he inhaled sharply as he realized what it was.

What no one but Ducky knew was that the original jacket had been a gift from Joey. Tim had only worn it to the office that fateful day because it was Joey's birthday and he was having a tough time, missing his lover and the others. Wearing it had been his way of feeling close to Joey that day. Now he slipped the new jacket on and Ziva's belief was proven, it fit him perfectly. Tony could hardly resist touching it but waited until he caught Tim's eye. Tim grinned and nodded at him and DiNozzo ran his hands down the sleeves. Mitas sighed, he'd never thought of owning a jacket like this but he wanted to touch it too. Jethro laughed at his nutty family, petting a jacket. He grabbed the camera and snapped several shots of DiNozzo, Mitas and Ducky fawning over the jacket while Tim tried to stand still, laughing. He still had the ruined jacket – or he had before Chimera – but that was one item he hoped had been given away during his absence. He didn't need it anymore; even without the thoughtful gift from Ziva he would always have his memories of Joey and their years together.

Eventually they admitted they were tired. Traveling together down to their living quarters, they said their good nights. Everyone but Ziva left their doors latched open.

Tim didn't think he would sleep but he did, nearly as soon as he put his head down on the bunched up clothing currently serving as his pillow. That was something he looked forward to, real pillows. And sharing a bed with Jethro, being able to kiss him any time, well almost any time they wanted, just to even be able to touch each other would be bliss. With a smile, he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of their new life.

Tony lay awake for awhile, still amazed that his father had shown up, and thought about the next few days. He would stay with Gibbs until he found a place, maybe even in his old building. Abby and Jimmy had told him that with his father's approval, they'd put his belongings in storage, they couldn't bear to give them up, so he would still have his furniture and his stuff and Jimmy had Kate, his goldfish. He was glad to be home with the rest of their family and he'd felt welcomed by Penny and Jackson as well as Abby, Jimmy, Fornell and Franks. As he drifted off he wondered what it was going to be like working for Vance as Director.

Ducky was thinking of his mother. While she was still living in their home, Penny had sadly informed him that she now had a fulltime nurse and hadn't been well enough to join them today. She told him that Jimmy and Abby had been godsends helping her with Victoria. He relaxed, knowing he would see her tomorrow and soon he too drifted off to sleep.

Ziva was thinking of her father and how grateful she'd been for his offer to help them. She wondered if she had misjudged him previously or if it was the shock of losing his last surviving child that had unlocked his heart. She'd been a little surprised and thankful today to discover how happy she was to see Abby and Jimmy and the others. Truly, she was part of a family. Although she was excited about finding a new apartment, she would enjoy her stay with Ducky. She knew Ducky had talked to Cory about him staying at the 'Mallard Inn' as well and she hoped he would do so. She was very fond of Mitas and now that they were home, she hoped he would resume his class work in the DC area. She drifted off to sleep thinking about the young man.

Cory was thinking about his brothers and how great it had been to see them and to hear their voices. He'd never really thought about it before but now he was grateful to have siblings. He thought about what Vance and Gibbs had said about being part of the team and staying around here, being involved with this group for as long as he could. He'd been so miserable on the Chimera and then so scared and horrified when Takada died in front of him, it was odd to think that because of all that misery and horror he'd become one of Gibbs' crew, one of the family. Lastly he thought about Ziva and wondered if she felt anywhere near the same about him as he did about her. With a smile, he drifted off to sleep.

Gibbs was awake the longest, marveling at how easy it had been to put away all the years of anger with his father. He had gone into his arms today as easily as he had when he was a little boy. He wasn't sure how they would do in the long run, they were both stubborn as mules, but he hoped they could find some common ground they could always get back to. And he thought of his team, his crew and how proud he was of them, individually and collectively. After everything they'd been through, they'd endured and preserved and made it home. He hoped Mitas would resume his studies in the area so he wouldn't drift away from them. Lastly, he thought of his Tim and of their future life together. After all these months of dreaming and planning, they were here and he couldn't wait. He too drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face.

For once they all woke at the same time the next morning. Tim, Mitas and Gibbs jumped up to get the animals fed, eggs and milk collected, the coffee pot and tea water on the stove and breakfast started. While Gibbs waited for the coffee to perk, he carried the chairs they'd used for the fire pit back to the upper deck as he thought just about everyone was joining them for breakfast. When Tim came back with a full jar of milk and nearly a dozen eggs, Gibbs laughed, "I think our animal friends are just as happy to be here as we are." Mitas was relieved to see the eggs; he'd been using up their eggs the last few days, not having thought about feeding additional mouths or even staying aboard. The eleven eggs Tim collected plus the several they still had on hand would just be enough. Tim helped Gibbs move the bench back to the deck and they were surprised to see some of their NCIS friends gathered on the dock, equally surprised to see them still on board.

Rick Carter stepped forward, "You guys going to live there now, Jethro?"

Gibbs smiled, "Don't know, Rick, it's awfully peaceful here at night."

"Something smells awfully good!"

"Yep, Mitas is cooking breakfast for all of us."

Rick nodded, "Guess I'd better get into work. You coming back?"

Gibbs shrugged, "Probably, we haven't talked much about it yet."

"We sure need you, man, all of you!" They waved to their former and possibly future co-workers as they moved off into the building. Tim stood there on the deck, thinking. Gibbs looked around; no one else was within hearing distance, but he still kept his voice low. "Timmy?"

"Jethro, it's time, I'm glad we stayed an extra night, but now I'm ready to go home…today. To Penny's I guess, but I sure wish I was going home with you."

"Yeah I do too, babe."

"I wish we could tell them."

"We can, we can tell them now, before the others get here." However, as he spoke, Penny called from the dock, "Ahoy there, can we get you to lower the gangplank? We're starving!"

Tim huffed, "Oh well, love, back to Plan A."

"Yeah, I'd rather tell my dad privately or at least not with the whole group there - and I'm sure you feel the same about Penny and Sarah. We'll make it be soon, Timmy."

Tim nodded and together they lowered the gangplank for their family.

XXX

Breakfast was over and they were dawdling over coffee, tea and hot chocolate when Tim and Tony, having earlier consulted with Mitas and Ziva, banged on the coffeepot sitting on the table. When they had everyone's attention, they spoke in unison. "We're leaving the ship today."

Tony continued, "All of us, we'll leave together. We're home and it's time to rejoin the world." Gibbs smiled and Mitas, seeing it, smiled back at him. It made perfect sense that they would all leave together; he wouldn't have it any other way.

It took them until early afternoon, but finally, they were ready to go. When Vance stopped by with their checks and new phones, they told him they were leaving. He asked them all to come in the following Monday for a de-briefing and that they would have to re-qualify on their weapons before they would be allowed back in the field. Other than that, they were expected to take leave to get settled and in the case of McGee, DiNozzo and David, find new homes.

A Marine buddy of Gibbs, now a farmer with a big cattle truck had come by to pick up the goats and the chickens in their coops and would transport them to Jackson's home in Stillwater to coincide with the older man's return over the weekend.

All the fresh food had been packed, all their belongings were packed. The folding chairs had been returned to NCIS. Penny, Sarah and Jackson had returned to Penny's to get Tim's room ready and get Jack ready to move to his son's home. The Mitas brothers would continue staying at the Navy Lodge and made arrangements to pick Cory up at Ducky's for an afternoon of sightseeing. Tony's father had departed the ship after breakfast for a meeting but not before making plans to have dinner with his son that evening. The agency pool cars stood by, ready for their use.

They gathered one last time in the galley. Their belongings were already on the upper deck and they were wishing they had the ATV and cart to get them to the vehicles. The gangplank would be secured after they left, no one would be allowed on board without their permission. They would be allowed to leave the ship here while they were on leave and then they would have to find a mooring for her. While Gibbs would handle the paperwork for registering the boat, each of them would chip in on the fee so they would be equal owners.

Now as they gathered, Tim looked at Jethro and smiled. He walked over to him and stood next to him, grabbing his hand. "It's time."

Jethro nodded and squeezed his hand. "Everyone, Tim and I have something to tell you."

Ducky smiled while the others looked interested. "We're not ready to tell the entire world yet, but we want you – our Island family - to know. Over the last few months, Tim and I have found something special in each other and together and not to sound too sappy but it's true, we've fallen in love. We can't be out at work but Tim will move in with me as soon as he finds a place, so he can maintain a separate address. We'll let Jimmy and Abby and our families know at some point soon. We just hope you'll be happy for us!" The two smiled at each other and leaned in for a quick and very chaste kiss.

Ducky was the first with handshakes for both of them. Mitas followed with hugs. Ziva, noticing Tony's astonishment, decided he didn't need to ever find out he was the only one who hadn't figured it out. She made surprised sounds and then made her way to the pair, kissing them both on the cheek and wishing them much love and happiness.

Tony seemed to finally regain his senses and looking at his surrogate father and his best friend he smiled, a genuine smile that showed in his eyes. "This is big news and I'm still digesting it. But I know that once I get over the shock, I'm going to be really happy for you guys."

Gibbs reached out and pulled him into a hug and the others soon piled in.

The 6 adventurers talked for a few more minutes and then they walked up the stairs to the upper deck, gathered their bags and walked down the gangplank to the dock. As they stepped off the gangplank, Tony called out, "Don't look back!" They all laughed as they stepped off the gangplank and once again onto American soil to re-join the world.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Much thanks as always to my good friend and beta, harmonfreak1. By the way, we have her to thank for the title of this story. Thanks also and always to the reviewers and readers who've come along for both Pirates and Tales from the Big Fish. I wrote Pirates purely for my own entertainment to deal with the questions I'd had about all the loose threads from Chimera. I was persuaded to post it by harmonfreak1 after (I suspect) she got tired of hearing about it but not seeing it!

* * *

Chapter Six

They'd left the ship on a Tuesday. By Friday Tony had leased a new apartment in the same building as before and arranged for his belongings to be moved that same day. Jack was flying home Saturday morning and that left Gibbs with no extra residents. Tim had also found a new place, not surprisingly very close to Gibbs. Rather than buy new furniture, he rented it furnished and "moved in" immediately. Penny and Sarah had stored most of his things in Penny's garage, so he put a few items in the rental while he moved the clothes he'd brought with him from the Big Fish over to Jethro's place. Before he officially moved in, he came for dinner with Penny and Ducky on Friday night and together he and Jethro told Jack and Penny about their relationship.

Unbeknownst to Tim or Jethro, Penny already knew. Ducky had been a bit afraid of the sometimes fiery woman's reaction and so had given her fair warning. Having had a day or so to get used to the idea of her precious grandson with his much older boss, she was feeling better about it and once she saw them together that Friday night, she knew they would be all right. Although no one had told him anything, Jackson wasn't very surprised. He'd known something was up with his son; his eyes sparkled as they had when Shannon was alive. He may not have seen him for years but he knew his kid, knew he had someone special in his life and he'd thought it might be Tim. Truth be told, he hoped it was Tim. He liked the young man and thought he would be a good match for his boy.

So the dinner was a success and with the exception of Sarah, Jimmy, Abby and Tobias, who hadn't yet been told, their family had been accepting and happy for them. Having quietly placed his go bag and pack into the trunk of Penny's car before they left for Gibbs' house, Tim stayed on when his grandmother and Ducky left after dinner. Sarah had returned to her dorm, having had mid-terms to prepare for and Tim's departure equaled privacy for the two older love birds. Ziva and Mitas were still at Ducky's along with his mother and her nurse. Mitas' brothers were staying in the NCIS reserved rooms at the Navy Lodge but spending most of their time and eating most of their meals at 'The Mallard Inn'. All this meant that Penny's empty house was a very welcome change.

Jackson was delighted to spend the rest of the evening with his new son-in-law as he already considered him. Tim had worked a bit on their chronicles and now he enlarged the font so Jack could more easily read them on the laptop. While the older man was doing that, Tim and Jethro did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen area, something they had done many times together on the island and the ship. When Jethro pulled him into a corner of the kitchen and kissed him as if he was a drowning man and Tim's lips a life preserver, the younger man melted into his lover's arms. One more night, they wanted to wait until Jack was gone so they wouldn't have to worry about any other presence in the house.

Eventually the two lovers pulled apart, not willing to leave Jack alone for too long. They joined him in the living room and laughed when he gave them a knowing look. "How did you two do with the others around all the time?"

"Mostly we didn't, Dad. We'd find a moment here and there, snuck out and slept under the stars one night. I went with Tim to test the solar powered battery on the assault craft - that was the most privacy we had in six months. Mostly it was just a stolen few minutes here and there."

Tim admitted, "Sometimes we'd have a couple of hours to ourselves. But we really haven't had a lot of private time and we're ok with that, it's given us time to really get to know each other."

Jack shook his head. "Amazing, the whole thing is amazing to me." He blinked, "I still am pinching myself that you've come home, safe and sound, all of you."

Tim chuckled, "You have your son to thank for that. He never let us give up, kept us busy right from the start so we didn't have too much time to think. Even when we were being held prisoner by our own Coast Guard, he walked out on them – yeah, he didn't tell you this part, Jack, but he was taken over to their ship, they'd already taken Ziva and Ducky, you heard what Mitas said. We didn't know if he'd be back, we didn't know if we'd ever see Ziva again, they were going to ship her back to Israel. But Jethro stood up to the captain of that ship, told him to give him back his people and to let them go, they'd get the heck out of American waters and go back to the island. And then he walked out, grabbed Ziva and Ducky, got in a boat and came back to us, ordered Tony to turn around and do our best speed out of there."

Jack turned to his son, "Was that a ploy, Leroy? You know, to get them to stop treating you like you were prisoners of war?"

"No, Dad, it was no ploy. I was really fed up and when I told the jerk we would get out of American waters, I meant it. It had only been a day, a little less than 24 hours but the situation was getting worse instead of better. We knew it would be tough but I never thought it would be that bad – and to make it worse I knew the Captain; his brother used to work for me."

"And he still did all that?"

"Yeah, he was following orders. And then the damned Secretary of the Navy tried to deny it. Asshat!"

Tim huffed, "The next time we're on protection detail with him should be interesting."

Jethro smiled and put his arm around him, "Nah, Vance is way too smart for that. With any luck we'll never have to see the jerk again."

"So tell me again what happened after you were back in International waters."

"Ziva told us her father had arranged asylum for us in Israel."

"And you would have gone?"

"Dad, we knew by that time that all of you had been told we were dead, killed in the line of duty - in a really pathetic story, by the way. As much as our lives on the island were comfortable, we wanted to get home and see you all, let you know we were alive. Israel was a decent alternative if we couldn't get into the U.S."

"And you ordered that, son?"

"No, Jack, we took a vote. Jethro wanted each of us to have a say and all 6 of us voted to go to Israel."

Jack shook his head and then wrapped an arm around each of them. "I am so grateful for Tobias Fornell and that other man, Tom…?"

"Morrow."

"Yes, him. And for whoever lit the fire under the State Department."

"And the UN, Jack. That was Ziva's father, he works in the Israeli government and made formal complaints to both State and the UN. Did you know the ship we had escorting us the second time had UN peacekeepers on it? Morrow and the Israeli government told State we wouldn't trust anyone that reported to the Secretary of the Navy."

Jack laughed and shook his head, "To think my boy, from little old Stillwater PA, had a whole ship from the United Nations escorting him home, now that's an honor!"

They talked a little more and then Jack announced he was going to bed as he had an early flight. Jethro and Tim waited until he'd closed the door on the guest room/den where he was sleeping and then Jethro grabbed Tim's bag and pulled him up the stairs.

Tim tried not to giggle as Jethro was trying to pull his shirt off while they were still on the stairs and he couldn't see where he was going with his shirt pulled halfway over his head. His lover relented and pulled it down enough so he could see. They tumbled through the door of Jethro's room and right onto the bed. Tim ended up on top of Jethro and he smirked at him as he pulled the other man's shirt up and over his head, then proceeded to pepper his chest with kisses. He spent some time with his nipples, lavishing each one with this tongue and hands. Jethro was squirming with pleasure, trying not to moan out loud and then Tim leaned in and pushed his mouth open with his tongue, demanding entrance. The two of them rolled on the bed, both shirts came off and Jethro slipped his hand down Tim's pants. When he found his prize, he ran his fingers around the head and down the sensitive split in the back. Tim nearly bucked them both off the bed and it was Jethro's turn to capture Tim's lips and swallow his moans of pleasure. Tim rolled them again and gave the same attention to Jethro's penis, managing to reach his balls and give them some attention as well. He sat up and holding Jethro down carefully unzipped his lover's jeans and freed his tumescent cock. Tim slid to the floor and pulled Jethro's jeans all the way off. He knelt between the man's legs and licked his way up and around each foot, ankle, calf and thigh. His lover had grabbed a pillow and was moaning his pleasure into that as Tim found the slight mark he'd originally left on Jethro's inner thigh that day in the north cove and swirled his tongue on and around it and bit gently it to enlarge the proof of his claim. He then worked his way up to the sensitive area behind the balls and ran his finger gently along there to his entrance. He ran one finger around and around the hole, feeling it twitch in response. He wanted to give Jethro his fingers, but he thought it would be too much; he would save that for tomorrow. Finally he moved his tongue back to the thick shaft, pleasuring it with his mouth and hands. He used one hand to hold Jethro's balls and played with them a little, taking first one then the other into his mouth. When he felt them start to tighten, he moved and lowered his mouth over his lover's penis, taking it in and swirling his tongue around the head and down the split. With a muffled cry, Jethro came, spurting ribbons of cum into Tim's eager mouth. He swallowed it, licked his man's shaft clean and then leaned in for a kiss. Jethro moaned again as he tasted himself on Tim's lips and tongue. They lay wrapped in each other's arms for a few minutes. Jethro chuckled, "You cheated, Timmy, you still have your clothes on." Tim gave him a lazy smile and sitting up, did a bit of a strip tease with his undershirt. When he reached for the zipper on his jeans, Jethro stopped him, "Oh no, I've had to wait too long in between visits, Timmy boy." He rolled them so he was straddling Tim's hips and starting at the top of his head, kissed his forehead, eyelids, nose, and cheeks and then attacked those luscious lips. With his tongue he made love to Tim's mouth, exploring and thrusting. When Tim's squirming got to be too much for both of them, he moved his mouth and tongue to his chest. He sucked on each nipple, tweaking them and licked lazy circles down Tim's torso to his belly button. He sucked on that and saw Tim grab the pillow to muffle his own moans. He pulled back and tapping Tim's hips, helped him scoot down the bed a bit. He carefully pulled the zipper down on his jeans and watched greedily as Tim's penis popped up against his belly. He gave it one swift lick around the head and then stood between the younger man's long legs peeling his jeans from him. When they had joined his on the floor, he stood for a minute admiring the beauty and strength of his man. Then he pulled Tim's legs up onto his shoulders and leaning forward, caressed his cock with his hands, sliding them down to his balls and giving them a tug or two, then slid a finger down the man's perineum to his entrance. He had the same thought as Tim; he really wanted to give him his fingers but decided to wait. As it was, Tim already had half the pillow stuffed in his mouth. He rimmed his entrance with one finger and then slid it back up to his balls.

Finally he could stand it no longer and pulling Tim's legs down spread them wide on the bed. Climbing up his lover, he used his mouth and tongue on his inner thighs, finding the mark he'd left and playing with it. When he moved his mouth to Tim's cock, taking in the head and swirling his tongue around it and down that sensitive split, Tim moaned his name in a growl that had his lover's formerly flaccid cock taking interest. He lowered his mouth, again taking in the head while tugging at his balls, running his finger down the back of his cock, and down behind to his entrance. With a pop he released Tim's penis and took each ball into this mouth, sucking it and using his tongue to pleasure it. He moved his mouth back to his cock, holding his balls in his hands and increased the pressure of his tongue on the head. When he felt Tim tighten up, he took more of his cock into his mouth and then slowly released the shaft when Tim climaxed, shooting ribbons of his fluid into his lover's willing mouth. He licked him clean and then moved over him to kiss him deeply. Exhausted and sated, the two men snuggled together, reveling in their closeness and being able to stay together as they drifted off to sleep.

Both men were awake by 0530 and by the sounds and smells of breakfast cooking, they weren't the only ones. Jethro took a quick shower; when he got out and found Tim had dozed off again, he wakened him with a slow kiss, then threw on his clothes and headed downstairs. Tim mumbled to himself about teasing lovers as he took his own shower and then dressed. The smell of coffee and something vaguely familiar enticed him downstairs. His hand out, a full mug was put into it and he was gently guided to a chair.

"There you go, Tim." Two sips of the deep rich brew and Tim's eyes snapped open. "Thank you Jack. What's that wonderful smell…oh bacon!"

"There are pancakes too, Tim."

"You can stay, you know, he'll just make me eat cereal. I can't lose Mitas and you in the same week!" Gibbs had started chuckling when Tim's eyes snapped open and now it grew into a belly laugh as he watched Tim give a piece of bacon nearly the same amount of attention as the younger man had given him the previous night. Gibbs finally wound down while Tim ignored him and happily ate every piece of bacon on his plate.

When he started eyeing the bacon on Jethro's plate, Jack started to laugh. "I take it you haven't had bacon in a while?"

"No bacon on the boat, no pigs on the island, Penny doesn't eat bacon, so no bacon in six months. Six months, Jack, that's un-American!"

"So what did you usually have for breakfast?"

"Potatoes and eggs, wonderful potatoes and eggs, skillet biscuits, pancakes, oatmeal."

"Wow, I'm impressed. So have you had any fish since you've been home?"

"No fish. I don't think I want fish if Mitas hasn't cooked it. Penny served tofu burgers. Sarah and I snuck out for real burgers, fries and a shake."

"How did you like that?"

"Fries weren't as good as Mitas' and the shake tasted funny. I think because it was made with cow's milk. You'll have the goats Jack; you'll have all the goat milk. And fresh eggs every day; are you going to sell them in your store?"

"Yes, the eggs I certainly am. The goat's milk, well we'll see if there's a market for that in Stillwater."

Gibbs looked at his watch, "Hate to break this up, but we need to get you to the airport, Dad."

"All right son; I'm all ready, my bag's parked by the front door."

Tim put the dishes in the sink while Jethro took his dad's bag out to the car. Grabbing their jackets, the three men made their way to the agency sedan parked in the driveway. "Son your car is in the garage, the keys are in the top drawer in your kitchen. And Tobias has your truck at his place."

"Thanks for not getting rid of everything, Dad."

"Thank Abby, she was so persuasive I stopped mourning and started believing before the memorial service was over."

Jethro and Tim looked at each other, "Memorial service?"

"Oh, guess no one told you about that huh? Your Director, your former one that is, decided to have one big service for the 5 of you. That's when I first met Abby, Jimmy, Penny, Sarah, Mike, Tobias, Vance, Victoria and Tony's dad."

Tim sat back in his seat thinking about that memorial service. He guessed it was Director Shepard's way of giving herself closure although he was willing to bet she hadn't known if they were dead or alive. He knew - they all did - that she hadn't even bothered ordering a search for them. It suddenly hit him that Jack hadn't mentioned his parents. He thought about asking but decided that Penny would be a better one to approach with that. On second thought, he really didn't want to know. They couldn't be bothered to show up for his memorial service, much less his "resurrection". He tried to let the pain slide off but it wouldn't go far.

Jethro was watching him in the rearview mirror and saw when it hit his lover that his worthless parents had once again shown their true colors. His hands tightened on the wheel and then he relaxed, he would do his best to help his lover through this but it wouldn't help if he was as angry as Tim.

Jack noticed the dead silence in the car and wondered what he'd said. He went back over his words and realized he'd left out someone. He hadn't had a chance to meet her but he knew she'd been there.

"Tim, I didn't have a chance to meet her but your mom was there at the service. I guess she'd gotten the time wrong because she had to leave right after for the airport."

Tim swallowed, so at least his mother had cared enough to show up. "Thanks Jack."

The older man opened his mouth to ask a question but saw his son's slight shake of his head. Sighing, he realized that he and Leroy weren't the only parent and child to have problems. At least the two of them had put aside their differences and he knew in his heart they'd be ok now. They'd always quarrel but that apparently was part of them and he knew Leroy would be there for him if and when he ever needed him.

"I know you haven't been home long enough yet to get settled in, but any idea when you can come up and visit? I want to show off my new son-in-law!" In the mirror, Jethro caught Tim's eye and they smiled at each other.

"We're going to take our leave, Dad, everything that's coming to us, so we'll be up in the next few weeks for a couple of days. We'll give you a call when we figure everything out."

"Tim, you're not going to have to live in the apartment you rented, are you? I mean, that's just for show for the agency, right?"

Tim chuckled, "That's right, Jack. NCIS is a civilian agency but with DADT in the military, we don't know how our relationship would be viewed."

"So I guess I can't brag too loudly."

"Appreciate that, Dad, especially if people know we're both Federal Agents."

"Huh. You sure you want to go back to work there?" Both of the other men laughed and Jethro answered, "Pretty sure, for now. Although Tim is a very talented man, he could be running a tech company or be a full time writer."

Jack had more questions but they'd reached the airport. Jethro dropped his father and Tim off while he went to park the car. He found them in the gift shop outside of security; Jack was holding up one of the weekly newsmagazines with a photo of the Big Fish on the cover, with the caption, "Miracle Survival! Returning from the dead in a Big Fish." Jack was leafing through the magazine and stopped at the photos. They started with the Big Fish approaching the Barry, then Gibbs maneuvering into the slip, their group hug, Abby and Jimmy running up the gangplank and their second group hug. More photos of the Secretary of State's visit and of the visitors milling around the deck. One enterprising photographer must have stayed late as there was a wonderful photo of the group gathered on the upper deck, eating dinner by the light of their lanterns. Another photo showed them walking down the gangplank the next morning, their bags in hand. It must have been taken just after Tony's quip not to look back because they were all laughing. Jack scooped up several copies and started looking through the other magazines. Tim stopped him, "Jack, they'll send us copies and we'll order more for you. We can probably get prints of the photos if you'd like. No need to haul all these home on the plane."

"But I want to show people on the plane, Tim!" Gibbs tried not to roll his eyes while Tim smiled with affection at the older gentleman. "Ok." Jack grumbled but he did have his hands full with his bag and his cane. He bought a few copies and managed to stuff them in his bag. Looking at the time, he saw it was time to get in line for the security check. He fiercely hugged his boy, relishing his strength and life and then turned to Tim and gave his new son an equally fierce hug. Then he turned and walked away from them and Jethro knew his old man was close to tears. They waited until he made it through security and climbed onto the courtesy cart waiting for him. He turned once and waved and then was swallowed up by the airport.

Jethro turned and looked at Tim. "Six months and however many days and we're here, Tim, alone, by ourselves." Tim grinned back at him, "Race you to the car, Jethro!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

On the Big Fish…

Now remembering the race to the car that day and the loving that had followed, Gibbs looked around with a contented and truly happy smile. The family was gathered today, their whole family including his dad, Tim's grandmother and sister, her boyfriend Brian, Tobias and his daughter Emily, all aboard for a very special day. The only ones not here were the Vances and that was only because Leon could not yet be told about his agents' personal relationship. Jethro hummed to himself and then grinned when a pair of hands worked their way around his shoulders. "Penny for them, sweetcheeks…and I don't mean my grandmother!"

"I'm just happy that we're all together today, love." Tim nodded as he slid around to stand side by side with his partner.

Over the months they'd been home, there had been several floats with the original 6 Big Fish adventurers, but this was the first time since they had returned that all of them and all of their family members had embarked on a float together. Even Tony's father had joined them, although Tim suspected that was more out of curiosity about his son's new relationship than any desire to join them for the float and barbecue.

Ducky, Jimmy and his fiancée Breena were talking animatedly on deck with Mitas, Ziva and Cory's brothers. The young man had returned to his studies fulltime as he'd hoped. To his everlasting astonishment, he had been accepted at Johns Hopkins, one of Tim's alma maters, and was now working on finishing his doctorate. Although Ziva had rented an apartment and left Ducky's a few weeks after they arrived home, Cory had stayed on at the doctor's home until he started classes. Then he discovered the huge difference in miles between cities and time spent on the road in commute traffic. Within a month, Mitas had reluctantly thrown in the towel on commuting between Reston and Baltimore and rented a room in a private home during the week, commuting to Reston on the weekends. Gibbs suspected the doctor and the student needed each other's support. He knew Cory had been worried about not being able to be part of their lives once they returned to work. Staying with Ducky, even if only on the weekends, provided an extra link as well as enjoying the older man's company. Ducky was facing emotional challenges every day with his mother's declining mental state and Cory provided a balance and a link back to a world with active healthy people. While Ducky and Penny were very much involved with each other, Penny traveled quite a bit and although they spoke daily she wasn't physically present on an everyday basis. With Cory at the house with him whenever he could be Ducky needn't feel alone and isolated as Gibbs knew could happen with caregivers.

Gibbs had been touched and amused when the young man had shown up at his home one evening to talk to him about Ziva. The two of them were developing something between them that was more than friendship and Mitas wanted to make sure that was ok with Gibbs, Ziva's surrogate father. Since the older man had already had a discussion with Ziva and a few with Ducky on the topic, he gave his approval.

Now he glanced over at Tony and Abby who were talking with Senior, as they'd come to call Tony's father, and shook his head, reflecting once again on the strangeness of that relationship. Still, it seemed to be working and he was happy for them both. Neither of them had talked with him about it and he'd wondered at that but finally decided that both were confident that they had his approval and support. He also thought their relationship had been as much of a surprise to them as it was to everyone else. He remembered that Abby had hated Tony at first sight when he had started at NCIS. That had eventually given way to friendship and now, years later to love.

Thinking about his team and the agency inevitably led Jethro to thinking about the changes they'd experienced. The actions taken by the Secretary of the Navy, and the complaints filed by Cory Mitas, the Director of Mossad and Penny Langston had led to Admiral Davenport's resignation as SecNav within a few weeks of their return and that warm welcome by the Secretary of State. Rumor had it that the Admiral was now working as a consultant to his buddies at the CIA. To this day, Jenny Shepard had made no attempt to contact Jethro, Ducky or any member of Gibbs' team. If there had been any contact made between the CIA and NCIS in any way, shape or form, it had thankfully not come to Gibbs' attention. Given that the circumstances that had brought Abby to the FBI had been resolved, she had been able to return to NCIS. Jimmy had remained with the FBI a bit longer than Abby but at Ducky's request had finally come back to the agency. Ducky wanted the young man to start assuming the older man's responsibilities so he could do some traveling with his Penelope.

Before Abby transferred back to the agency, she, Tim, Gibbs and Ducky met several times to iron out the problems Tim had suffered at her hands. Gibbs had first met alone with Abby and at her request been in the first meeting with Tim. After that Ducky had stepped in as a sort of moderator. Abby had had a difficult time accepting Tim and Gibbs' relationship and dealing with her past behavior but eventually she had found the strength to get over her pique at losing her favorite status and she and Tim developed a decent professional relationship. Gibbs and Tim also took some time to work together on their own work problems and when they thought they had a handle on them, met with Ziva and Tony to continuing working out their problems. Ziva had been horrified when she was told of Tim's injured leg and resulting infection as a result of her deliberate reckless driving. Tony also accepted responsibility for that and other problems that had occurred in the past. The three of them worked together to strengthen their working relationships with Gibbs also a willing and proud participant. The work and the changes were made easier by the bonds they had formed on the island and the ship. There were no longer any favorites nor was there a hierarchy amongst the team, they were now finally truly a team. They still joked and teased each other but Tony was learning to think before he spoke or acted and Tim had learned to let him – or anyone else know – when he was bothered or that something was wrong. For her part, Ziva learned to better evaluate situations and like Tony think things through before taking sides or causing an escalation. During their time away, Tim had gained a lot of self-confidence, partly from his acknowledged and proven success with their solar power projects, partly from his relationship with Jethro and partly, perhaps the biggest part, from no longer having to keep so many secrets. With the amount of leave they had been given, the three teammates were able to work out their problems before they returned to work. One of the things that helped them was working together on their chronicles, now titled "Tales of the Big Fish Six" and due to be published before the end of the year.

After their extended absence, Gibbs' team had jumped right back into investigating crimes with all their vigor and a new found cohesiveness that had previously not been all that obvious in the bullpen. Their return to work found them fully qualified to return to the field on their first day, each having passed their qualifications with flying colors. They pulled a triple homicide their second day back and Director Vance watched closely, blown away by the synergy within the team. He'd heard a lot of stories about this team and despite their high success rate he'd had some serious concerns about Gibbs' leadership style and interactions between the two younger field agents and their Mossad liaison. However, the skills, talents and respect that were demonstrated during that first case made him forget all the rumors and stories. Whatever they'd been before, they were a strong cohesive team now.

As the story of the old nuclear warhead circulated, the details of Ferris' and Chief Rogers' treasonous behaviors also became known. The blood on Rogers' knife turned out to be Crewman Wong's and the blood scrapings from the lifeboat had DNA from both Wong and Crewman Gellis. Wong's parents came to Washington to meet Gibbs' team and gratefully accepted the photos and mementos of their son's final resting place. One of the things they treasured was a plaque that Gibbs made for the young man's parents that included the latitude and longitude of their son's grave. Tony donated one of the shells he'd brought back from the island. Gibbs carefully preserved it and then embedded it in the plaque.

XXX

Now Jethro smiled again, keeping one hand on the wheel and pulling his lover in for a kiss. Tim returned the kiss and then pulled away, "Jethro, are you ready for this?"

"Me? I've been ready since our second week on the island, love!"

"I wish it could be legal and I wish we could tell the world."

"Someday, Tim, it will happen! Besides, the most important people in our lives know."

Tim smiled and then pointed to the small islet in front of them. "We're here, J."

Jethro maneuvered the ship into the small bay that reminded them so much of Dead Man's Bay, without any of the unpleasantness. They set the anchor and shut off the engine. It was time. Both men disappeared to the crew quarters to change into the tuxedos they'd brought with them.

While they couldn't yet have a legal marriage in DC, VA or MD, they considered this ceremony, their commitment ceremony, to be their wedding, the declaration and celebration of their love for each other. Ducky was their officiant with Tony, Ziva and Cory as their attendants, with Abby, Jimmy and Sarah having roles as well.

When they had decided on the ceremony, Tim finally showed Jethro the rings he'd found on his last coving expedition. They had already decided to write their own vows and when Jethro saw the rings he knew that he wanted the ring he put on Tim's finger to have a special message engraved inside. Tim felt the same way about Jethro's ring, so they worked on their messages to each other as well as the vows.

The group was gathered together and enjoying pre-ceremony glasses of champagne. They turned to watch as Tim and Jethro walked up the galley steps hand in hand, eyes bright with happy faces. They separated to walk around the group on either side, to join again under the arch they'd built for this occasion. Ducky was waiting for them, wearing his best kilt. They stood under the arch and faced each other, taking a hand and smiling. Here they were, together with their loved ones, ready to declare their commitment to each other and to their relationship.

Ducky spoke a bit, welcoming everyone to the ceremony and telling of the evolution of their relationship from support and comfort to friendship and attraction to passion and love. When he finished, he turned to the men and they said their vows to each other.

Having flipped a coin to see who would go first, Tim won. Now he turned to Jethro,

"I vow to help you love life, to always hold you with tenderness, to have the patience that love demands, to speak when words are needed and to share the silence when they are not. To live within the warmth of your heart and always call it home. I promise to learn the proper grade of sandpaper to use in every single instance and to always have enough coffee for another pot."

That brought laughter from all, even the newest members of their extended family knew about the woodworking and the coffee.

Jethro blinked, fighting back tears and held tightly to Tim's hand as he said his vows to his lover,

"I come to this marriage, this glorious partnership with my full heart and mind and soul. I love you not only for what you are but for what I am when I am with you. I promise to listen to your electronic babble with love and patience even if I don't understand a single word and to always ensure there are extra typewriter ribbons in the house."

There was more laughter from their family and friends most of whom had witnessed Gibbs' complete lack of electronic savvy and knew of Tim's fanaticism about his typewriter.

When the laughter quieted, Ducky announced that the two men had some readings they wanted to share. This time Jethro went first, telling them he was reading a selection from "The Irrational Season" by Madeleine L'Engle,adding that she had been a favorite author during his childhood.

"But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take…It is indeed a fearful gamble…Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take…If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation…It takes a lifetime to learn another person…When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected."

There was a respectful silence as he concluded, everyone taking a moment to digest the words.

Tim cleared his throat and told them he was reading a poem written by the incomparable Maya Angelou, "Touched by an Angel"

"We, unaccustomed to courage  
exiles from delight  
live coiled in shells of loneliness  
until love leaves its high holy temple  
and comes into our sight  
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives  
and in its train come ecstasies  
old memories of pleasure  
ancient histories of pain.  
Yet if we are bold,  
love strikes away the chains of fear  
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity  
In the flush of love's light  
we dare be brave  
And suddenly we see  
that love costs all we are  
and will ever be.  
Yet it is only love  
which sets us free."

When he finished, he impulsively reached out and drew his partner in for a loving kiss. Smiling, Ducky remonstrated with him, "Now Timothy, we're not quite there yet." Ending the kiss, Timothy quipped, "I'm always there!"

Ducky followed the resulting laughter with a request to Tony, Mitas and Ziva to approach with the rings. Grinning, the three walked forward with Ziva holding the two rings on a small flat pillow. When they reached the happy couple, each of the young men handed over a ring, Tony to Jethro and Mitas to Tim. Once each groom had placed the ring on the other's finger, Jimmy and Abby sang "This I Promise You" by Ronan Keating.

When the song ended, Ducky presented them as a united couple and the pair exchanged kisses to the applause of their family and friends. Sarah, in charge of the photography, captured as much of the ceremony and the group as possible.

After they kissed and faced their guests, Tony started their play list; the first selection was the song "Celebrate" by Kool and the Gang. As that ended, the happy couple was surprised to find that Tony had resurrected the first play list they'd danced to on the island during the hurricane. Grinning wickedly at each other, they grabbed the other 4 adventurers and danced their way through the play list. It didn't take long for most of the guests to join in, whether they matched the steps the others were doing or not. Somewhere along the way, Jethro and Tim shed their tuxedo jackets and all 6 of them quickly ditched their shoes. By the time the music wound down, there were shoes, jackets and sweaters piled on and around the chairs the guests had occupied during the ceremony.

When the last note played, the original 6 let out a loud whoop and paused, looking at each other, knowing something was missing. Cory laughed, "It's the goats, guys, they're not bleating along with us." That brought general laughter and the story had to be told.

Ducky had opted to be the designated pilot for the Big Fish's return to their home port later in the evening, so he contented himself with sparkling water and cider while the others enjoyed the freely flowing champagne. The grooms had arranged for limos to meet the ship and return everyone to their homes or hotels, so there would be no worries and no problems.

After the dancers had cooled off, Mitas and Ziva headed to the galley to put the last minute touches on the feast they had planned. The pair had insisted on doing the cooking for the celebration, despite Jethro and Tim's wishes that they relax and enjoy the party. Mitas had finally convinced them by telling them it was their wedding present.

The grooms, gathering jackets and shoes, headed to their bunkroom to change into less formal clothes. Quickly changing, they hurried back to the upper deck and the festivities. As they appeared on deck, Tony looked at his watch, "Wow that was fast, guess that really was just a change of clothes. When's the honeymoon start?"

Tim laughed, "You're about 11 months late, Tony!"

Jethro grinned, "Yep, we started our honeymoon on the island, up in the North Cove." Tony stood there, his mouth opening and closing like a ,fish. Ducky laughed, "Careful Anthony, or Mitas will reel you in for our dinner!"

Tony snapped his mouth shut as Tim patted him on the shoulder. "We're staying aboard tonight at the marina, then we're headed down the coast tomorrow and will come back up on Monday - we might even use the sail."

Over the last few months, there'd been one significant remodeling job performed on the Big Fish. The wall between two of the bunkrooms had been removed and the couple had built themselves a king sized bunk. They had reinforced the walls for more privacy and given themselves a solid door as well.

Tony smiled, "That actually sounds like fun! I guess you two aren't really interested in a honeymoon package for a remote island getaway then?"

That brought laughter from everyone and Jethro responded, "No thanks, been there, done that!"

Ducky looked thoughtful, "Have any of you considered returning to our island? I don't mean now, but someday?"

Tony and Tim both chorused, "Not without Mitas and his cooking!"

Mitas, on deck with Ziva while dinner was cooking blushed. "Aw guys."

He and Ziva looked at each other, "We've talked about it, but it's three weeks by ship. And it wouldn't be the same without everyone else there."

Ziva added, "While I was happy with the life we had in the cavern when we had to be there, I do not think those thin mattresses on the tarp and our bucket bathrooms would be quite what I look for in a vacation."

Jethro snorted, "You're right, Zeever, it was make do, but it was a lot better than having to live on that tiny assault craft."

Tim laughed, "You know all I really remember from that boat is lying out on the deck with you that night, looking at the constellations, trying to figure out where we were."

"You had been rather ill, Timothy, with your seasickness. It's no wonder you don't remember anything else."

"That was the first non-work conversation I ever really had with you, Jethro, when you asked me why I wasn't seasick."

"Wasn't it before that Tim? You know, when you told me what had really happened when you were a …" Jethro abruptly shut his mouth and Tim, realizing he had been about to mention his abusive father having put him in the hospital at the age of four, sent a look pleading for help to Ducky, who was just arriving at the same thought. Ducky smoothly stepped in and somehow moved to the story of their finds aboard the ship that first day, including the huge box of potatoes which caused him to speculate that the Russian sailors might have been thinking of going into the moonshine business. They all laughed at that image and the story Ziva told of the shopping bag full of souvenirs. Tim finished that for her by flourishing his sunhat. Putting it on, he laughed when he saw the others pull out their 'dorky' sunhats as well.

Tony had brought the box along and handed out hats to the guests. Sarah held onto hers, not terribly enthusiastic about wearing it until she saw Abby and Ziva strapping theirs on. Sighing, she clapped it on her head. "You realize we'll all have hat hair now?" Tony pretended to look confused, "I'm sorry, is that anything like bed head?"

Amidst more laughter, Tim and Jethro snuck off to the aft railing and had a sweet kiss before they were hauled back to the group amidst whistles and catcalls, mostly from Tony, Tobias and Sarah. They were still bantering when Mitas banged the pot with a 10 minute warning. By now they were experts at putting the tables together and Jethro had made several folding chairs so there was plenty of seating for the whole group around the extended table. Tim and Tony insisted on bringing the storage tub full of their dining equipment up from the galley. Ducky had added a teapot and a thermal carafe to the galley collection; now he filled each and brought them up top. The happy couple had brought several bottles of champagne and their favorite wines with them and the appropriate glassware had also made its way to the ship.

Tony and Jimmy were called to the galley to help transport the food and soon the group was feasting on barbecued steak, chicken, vegetable kabobs and other favorite dishes. Tim and Jethro sat next to each other and ate off each other's plates. It was the perfect day with the perfect people; they all relaxed and enjoyed themselves. When they finally finished eating, Jimmy announced there would be some musical numbers before the cake was presented, feeling they all needed to move around a bit first. When Jethro heard the opening notes of "Falling in Love with You", one of his favorite Elvis Presley tunes, he tugged Tim up and they had their first 'formal' dance as a committed couple. Jimmy and Tony had planned the musical selections so that there was a good mix of old and new, fast and slow. While the others danced around them, Tim and Jethro remained locked in each other's arms no matter what the beat or style. Eventually they decided they wanted cake and the wedding cake, crafted by a friend of Penny's, was unveiled. It was a two tier chocolate swirl cake with buttercream frosting. The top layer had wedding figurines - two grooms in tuxes, arm in arm. The two men hadn't planned it but they had a great time feeding each other their cake. Jethro teased Tim with pieces that he would pull away and Tim retaliated by smashing a bit of cake into his husband's face. After they finally stopped laughing, they each grabbed another glass of champagne. Tapping their glasses, they called for attention and Jethro, having long abandoned his functional mute persona, spoke.

"You've heard a lot of stories about our island and for the 6 of us who were there we know which ones are true and which have been oh so slightly enhanced. We called The Rock a "magic island" because somehow we had everything we needed to survive and to find our way home - in fact we had a running joke that if you wanted something you just needed to say it aloud and wait a few minutes, then head for the coves. But for Tim and me, the magic extended far beyond what we found in the coves, far beyond the sunhats, clothes, shipping containers full of wood, garden sheds, olive oil and chairs. That island also brought an additional treasure, the love Tim and I have found together. Please join us," Tim and Jethro raised their glasses, "in drinking a toast of thanks for The Rock - our magic island - and the love and new life it brought to us!"

Raising their glasses, the 6 adventurers and their guests cried "To The Rock!" as they drank to that lovely pile of rock that had provided shelter, sustenance, shelter, clothed them, gave them family, friends and for two of them, an everlasting love.

The End

* * *

The literary excerpts Tim and Jethro read and the commitment/wedding vows were found on several different online wedding sites.

The inscriptions on the rings:

Jethro's: My lover and best friend, the love and warmth of your heart is home

Tim's: My sweet patootie, our love ever grows and deepens

Lyrics to "This I Promise You" by Ronan Keating:

My love, here I stand before you  
I am yours now from this moment on  
Take my hand, only you can stop me shaking  
We'll share forever, this I promise you

_[Chorus]_  
And when I look in your eyes  
All of my life is before me  
And I'm not running anymore  
'Cause I already know I'm home  
With every beat of my heart  
I'll give you my love completely  
My darling, this I promise you

My love, I can feel your heartbeat  
As we dance now closer than before  
Don't let go, 'cause I could almost cry now  
This is forever, I make this vow to you

_[Repeat chorus]_

My darling, this I promise you  
My darling, this I promise you

(lyrics found at: azlyrics DOT com)

"Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis Presley

Wise men say only fools rush in  
but I can't help falling in love with you  
Shall I stay  
would it be a sin  
If I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
some things are meant to be  
take my hand, take my whole life too  
for I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
some things are meant to be  
take my hand, take my whole life too  
for I can't help falling in love with you  
for I can't help falling in love with you

(lyrics also found at: azlyrics DOT com)

Thanks for joining me, everyone, it's been a blast!


End file.
